AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I smile, grateful, “Yes, definitely. Thank you.”
“No problem,” Ace smiles. “Why don’t you go and change, and Rip and I will get Harry out of the bath and into his PJs. Did you find his milk?”
I nod, “Yeah, he finished it by the time the bath was ready.” I tilt my head and then add, “You seem to know a lot about kids?”
Ace shrugs, “Not really. I guess I wanted to be prepared in case any of our jobs involved kids, which unfortunately happens more often than I’d like. So, I did a lot of research and reading. I never wanted not to be able to help a kid in a shitty situation.”
“That’s wow. That’s just amazing.” I reply, “Not many people would’ve even thought to have done that.”
“She's right, dude. I’m proud to be your friend,” Rip replies. “Now come and help me coax this little dude out of the bath; something tells me it’s going to be more difficult than getting him in.”
I laugh, “And that’s my cue to escape and go get changed. I won't be long.”
“We’ve got this,” Rip replies with a determined look on his face.
I decide that’s the best point to leave them to it because I really do feel gross wearing this shirt and covered in disgusting things.
“There’s another bathroom opposite,” Ace replies, sensing that I’m going to want to wash what I can as well.
“There is?” Rip asks. Ace nods, and Rip replies, “Huh, that’s new.”
I leave them to it as they go back to trying to get Harry out of the bath and practically sprint across the hall to get to the bathroom. Once the door closes behind me, it’s very obvious that this is the adult bathroom for the other staff to use, or at least that’s what I’m assuming. There’s no trace of kid's stuff in here, and everything is absolutely spotless. I quickly pull my top off, chucking it into the corner and calling it a throwaway because I doubt the smell will come out of it now, and then finding a washcloth, I run it under the warm tap soaking it thoroughly and adding some soap, then scrub my stomach where he was perched and then drying off and putting on the clean shirt which instantly makes me feel infinitely better.
Gathering up my old shirt, I search the bathroom finding a trash can and dumping the shirt in there before I open the door again.
The sight before me has me bursting out laughing as a happy and fully dressed Harry comes toddling toward me, asking to be picked up, which I, of course, instantly do.
“Oh, Harry, why are they all wet?” I ask him, laughter in my tone as I stare at the guys who have wet patches all over them.
“The kid thought it would be funny to start a water fight,” Ace mutters, grinning at Harry, who is now looking incredibly sleepy.
I remember how I used to do this rocking thing to help get one of Micha’s little brothers to sleep, and I figure it can’t hurt to try it. We’re about to get a lot more people here, and we need to debrief them all; it’s probably best if he’s having a nap.
Rocking from side to side as Harry settles his head on my shoulder, I say, “Well, it’s clear he won.”
“He’s got a damn good aim,” Rip chuckles, and then his expression softens as he peers at him, “and he’s fast asleep.”
“Already?” I ask, “I thought that was going to take longer.”
“Come on, let’s go and see if the grandparents are here,” Ace suggests as he grabs Harry’s bag that has extra diapers in it and then heads down the hallway.
As soon as we’re back in the enormous main hall where we started, the front door opens, and the guys and the grandparents walk in.
“Oh my, he’s younger than I thought,” my grandmother says as she moves straight over to me and then wraps an arm around me as she adds, “good job, sweetheart, he’s clean and fast asleep.”
“It wasn’t just me,” I reply, “Rip and Ace helped too.”
“Good,” Francis says with a soft smile shooting in her grandson's direction as Ace gets clapped on the shoulder by a proud-looking Cecil.
“Did you guys find anything outside?” I ask Rome and the twins.
Rome shakes his head, “Nope, there’s no one else here.”
“Alright, fill us in as quickly and as quietly as you can, we don’t want the child to hear us, even though I’m sure he’s witnessed his share of truly terrifying things by this point,” Ruth says.
Rome quickly explains what we witnessed and how we’re confident they’re all dead. It suddenly occurs to me that the man in the incinerator room was fucked up enough that he very definitely could’ve killed Harry, and I say a grateful prayer to just about every deity that we didn’t have to find him like we found the others. I would have never gotten over that.
Once he’s done, I add, “Apart from some blood on the top landing and the blood in front of the cupboard where Ace and Mason found Harry, the rest of the house is clear, which suggests to me that they were killed elsewhere on the grounds.”
